Chapter 169: Running Out of Grain

Xiahuayuan, the battlefield; the afternoon sun shone feebly upon the barren ground, attempting to bring a trace of warmth to this scorched earth, only to be scattered by the dry, biting, bone-chilling wind.

He Yuzhu drank a bowl of porridge and intended to take a nap in the Cave where supplies were stored.

Several days of continuous combat had left him exhausted; he was ready to fall asleep the moment his head touched the ground.

Just then, a flurry of panicked running sounds came from outside the Cave, along with many people shouting loudly, "Bombers are coming! Bombers are coming!"

He Yuzhu gave a start, his drowsiness vanishing instantly, replaced by an exuberant fighting spirit.

He got up and ran outside.

His goal was clear—to return to that mountain-top position that only he could reach.

To use that M2 Machine Gun to knock those sons-of-bitches' planes down!

For the past two days, at this hour, the enemy planes would fly over right on schedule, and everyone had gotten used to it.

The Guangtou Party Army could not break through the People's Liberation Army's Xiahuayuan defense line from the ground, so naturally, they could not enter Zhangjiakou. Therefore, they could only rely on air raids.

But this valley was cramped and narrow; if the planes did not lower their altitude to drop bombs, the bombs would nine times out of ten land on the other side of the mountain; yet once they dared to lower their altitude, they became living targets for the machine gun.

In two days, He Yuzhu had caught them by surprise the moment they dove at ultra-low altitude, and by his own strength, he had already successively knocked down four planes.

Of course, to cope with the enemy planes' frantic bombing, air-raid shelters had been urgently excavated at various positions, and He Yuzhu's High Explosive had played a major role.

Nowadays, playing a game of wits and courage with these "Grim Reapers" in the sky had become the norm for the People's Liberation Army.

Once the planes came, the soldiers would quickly hide in the bunkers; once the planes left, they would quickly return to their positions through the Communication Trench, never giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit.

But today, just as He Yuzhu reached the top of the mountain, he sensed something was wrong.

The flight path of the enemy planes seemed different from the previous two days.

The six planes ignored the valley below entirely and instead lined up, charging toward his mountain peak!

The roar of the engines came from far to near, carrying a deadly sense of oppression.

"Damn it, they're coming for me!" He Yuzhu understood instantly.

It must be that the other side had suffered a great loss over the past two days, and today they had come specifically for revenge, to pull out this "nail"!

He Yuzhu quickly set up the Machine Gun, aimed at the lead plane, and slammed his finger onto the trigger!

"Da-da-da—", the scorching bullets whistled out, piercing straight into the firmament.

Almost the instant the bullets left the chamber, he didn't even have time to see the result before he flashed into the space with the Machine Gun.

A burst of sparks erupted from the belly of the first plane, which then trailed a thick column of black smoke and crashed crookedly toward the distance.

The other five planes were enraged; they dove down frantically, pouring strings of bombs onto this small mountain peak.

"Boom—! Boom, boom, boom—!"

The deafening explosions came one after another, continuous and unending.

The entire mountain peak shook, with mud and gravel being tossed high into the air, then falling down with a rustle.

It was unknown how much time had passed when the explosions finally ceased and the roar of the planes gradually faded away.

He Yuzhu emerged from the space and was shocked by the scene before him.

The entire mountain peak had been forcibly shaved down by several meters; the original topsoil and vegetation had vanished, leaving only shattered bluestone.

"These grandsons must think they've blown me to ashes. But I'm fine!" He Yuzhu muttered to himself, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.

As soon as he went down the mountain, he saw He Daqing running over in a panic, his face deathly pale.

Seeing He Yuzhu unscathed, He Daqing rushed up and punched him in the chest, "You bastard kid! You scared your old man to death! I thought you... I thought you'd been blown away! Damn them, they didn't bomb the valley today, they focused entirely on bombing your mountain peak!"

He Yuzhu felt a warmth in his heart as he looked at He Daqing's undisguised alarm and concern.

This cheap father of his had undergone quite a transformation, from the indifference he showed when he first arrived in this era to the genuine worry he revealed today.

At this moment, Ershuan also ran over, panting; he looked He Yuzhu up and down and said, "Zhuzi! My dear mother! Where did you hide just now? When I came out and looked, those bombs were hitting the mountaintop like raindrops; I was scared out of my wits!"

He Yuzhu smiled, fished a piece of chocolate out from his bosom, stuffed it into his hand, and feigned ease: "What's the panic? Your young master is the reincarnation of Sun Houzi; I have seventy-two transformations and a tough life—I'm not going to kick the bucket that easily!"

By evening, the temporary Regimental Headquarters held another meeting.

Regimental Commander Yang announced the telegram with knitted brows: "We have just received orders from our superiors; we... still need to hold out for three more days!"

As soon as the words fell, the crowd below immediately erupted like a boiling pot. Everyone had originally thought they could withdraw from their positions tomorrow; they hadn't expected the deadline to be extended again.

Seeing this, Hu Yi spoke in a deep voice: "Comrades, it is understandable that you have emotions! But everyone knows we are currently surrounded on all four sides; even if you were allowed to withdraw now, could you actually get out?"

These words were like a basin of cold water, causing everyone to calm down slightly.

The situation was indeed as such: over four thousand people were surrounded like an iron barrel by one hundred thousand enemy troops; wanting to break out of the encirclement was easier said than done.

He Daqing stood up and said with difficulty: "Regimental Commander Yang, it's not that I'm complaining, but our grain reserves will hit rock bottom today..."

Regimental Commander Yang's gaze turned to He Yuzhu, carrying an unquestionable trust: "Zhuzi, you'll have to find a way to solve this difficult problem."

He Yuzhu felt bitter in his mouth and could only bite the bullet and accept: "Alright, if it really comes to it, I'll go hunting and fishing. Rest assured, with me here, I will never let everyone fight on an empty stomach!"

The words were spoken beautifully, but He Yuzhu was in a bind.

Taking grain directly from the space was obviously not an option; there was simply no way to explain the source.

Going into the mountains to hunt had become the only choice at the moment.

After three days of fierce and tragic fighting, the troops had suffered heavy casualties.

Regimental Commander Yang had fewer than one thousand combat-ready men left, and Hu Yi's side had also lost nearly a thousand; currently, the two regiments combined had fewer than three thousand men who could pick up a gun, yet they still had to defend against strong enemies from three directions.

If these people were left hungry, they probably wouldn't even be able to hold their positions for another day.

As soon as the meeting ended, He Yuzhu set off into the mountains immediately.

He had to find a source of food as quickly as possible.

The mountain paths were extremely difficult to traverse; in many places, one almost had to use both hands and feet.

Even though he had put on several layers of thick clothing and worn gloves in advance, he was still constantly scratched by sharp branches, leaving streaks of blood on his body and hands.

He climbed arduously over a small mountain peak, behind which lay a relatively wide valley.

Because it had been rarely visited by humans for years, thorns and trees grew wildly in the valley, making it exceptionally difficult to walk through.

The sky gradually darkened, and the canyon grew increasingly pitch-black; He Yuzhu turned on his flashlight, and a bright beam of light instantly pierced through the gloom.

He bent down and began to carefully search the ground for any tracks, droppings, or gnaw marks that might belong to an animal.

However, after searching for a long while, as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but dense vegetation and exposed rocks.

He continued to walk forward when, suddenly, countless pairs of glowing green eyes emerged from the bottom of the valley in the distance, looking just like fireflies in the grass.